The Shape of Things to Come: Cylinder vs. Tree

2023-05-15 metaphysics causality Paul Ritterbush

In the previous article, I presented the difference between indeterminism and determinism by whether or not duplicated things become different from one another. If the universe is indeterminiate, then this is to say there are things that, if duplicated, can diverge from their originals. This is about as good as we can get from a practical standpoint. We don’t need to duplicate the entire universe, we just need to duplicate some things in it. Continue reading

Deterministic Watches and Indeterministic Watches

2023-02-02 metaphysics causality Paul Ritterbush

Are most people determinists? Determinism seems to be a default view of the world. It’s insanity to repeat the same thing and expect a different result. Right? In a world of computers, cars, rockets, etc. Yes. The same action always produces the same result. Unless … Unless the computer glitches. Unless the car fails to start. Unless the rocket explodes. Unless … . Unless all sorts of mechanical problems. And unless there’s an element of indeterminism. Continue reading

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